Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone
by Mary Sue Murderer
Summary: Todd tries prove himself to Wanda, but all doesn’t go as planned. A ToddWanda pairing. Warning: Dark Fic
1. Pity

Note: This fic is based off of the events that happened in the rp I helped run, Dark Horizons on ezboards, but don't let that stop you from reading. Thanks go out to the other players who helped inspire the original event that led to this fic.  
  
------------------------------  
  
_There.  
_  
_There she goes...  
_  
Todd was crouched on the counter in the kitchen of the boarding house, his face pressed up against the window as he peered through the dirty glass. Even with all the grime that had been allowed to build up on the window, there was no mistaking the flash of red headed away from the house. He'd heard the door slam while trying for the fifth time that afternoon to find something to eat, and checked to see exactly who had left in such an angry huff. Looking back, he should have guessed it was her. His snookums was never all that happy. In fact, he hadn't ever been blessed with the sight of a smile on those perfect lips of hers. The closest he'd ever come was that look of confusion after he'd single-handedly (well, sort of) saved her from Magneto. Of course, even that was before she knew who he was; it had changed awfully fast after she found out. But now as he watched that beautiful smear amongst the filth on the glass move down the street, he could tell immediately that this wasn't the normal rage his scarlet sweetie usually battled with. There hadn't been any yelling at Pietro, no destruction of property, no glaring pointedly at someone else to assure everyone knew how upset she was. She'd just left.  
  
_Somethin's really got Wanda down... Heh, maybe this is my chance! Talk ta her while she's hurtin', maybe she'll soften up ta me.  
_  
Todd hopped off the counter and over to the door in a few bounds, a smirk stretching across his froggy face. As he opened the door, he paused, his brow furrowing as his mind wrestled with a sudden and unexpected moral dilemma.  
  
_I... I couldn't do that, not to Wanda... sure, it'd be nice for her ta like me but... eh, I don't know. Usin' people's weaknesses' more Pietro's thing, an I don't wanna use her.  
_  
Sighing, Todd withdrew his hand from the doorknob, looking down at his beaten-up sneakers. Even his shoes were ugly. There was no way Wanda could ever like him, not even a little bit. She was so gorgeous, and he... he was little more than a grease stain on the floor of the boarding house to her; her and just about everyone else in the world, really. He knew that no matter how many times he tried with Wanda, he'd fail and pay for the attempt with some amount of pain, but still... he couldn't quite let go of that last tiny bit of hope he still had. At the very least, he made a good punching bag for her.  
  
_Yeah... an she probably needs a good punchin' bag right now! I can do that, yo! I've got the skillz to take her beatings and bounce back better than anyone! Don't worry, my Smoochykins! Todd's on his way!_  
  
Kicking the door back open with one foot, Todd hopped out the door and down the street, completely re-energized with his newfound purpose. It didn't matter if he was the arms that held her, the shoulder she cried on, or the ass she kicked, as long as he was there for her in some way.  
  
"Hey, Babycakes! Wait for me!"  
  
The red coat stopped, though the girl wearing it didn't turn around. He stood up straight, or as straight as he ever stood, just behind her, smiling as best he could. She sighed, slowly turning around to face him.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Todd nearly froze as he saw the look on her face. She was trying her best to look pissed off, but the expression simply didn't have the feeling or the violence behind it that she usually had. She looked more... helpless, somehow. Defeated. He noted that her jaw was clenched and her lips pressed tightly together when she wasn't speaking, as if trying to keep them from giving away to much. Most of all, he noticed her eyes... Her eyes, that usually bore through a man and made him fear for the well being of his genitalia now looked wider than normal, more reflective where it met her lower lid. She wasn't angry at all, she was just sad. Even with the empty sort of threat she tried to inject into her posture, the sight of Wanda like this nearly broke Todd's heart. It was a moment before he remembered that she'd asked him a question.  
  
"I... I was, uh, just wonderin' what my Honeypie was up to is all! Ya goin' shoppin'? Need an extra pair of hands ta help you carry all the bags? I'll be your loyal servant for the day! Your wish is my command! I am at your service!"  
  
He bowed, looking up at her after a moment to waggle his eyebrows suggestively after his last line. Perhaps she'd find the innuendo tempting, or his humor inviting, or at least find it reason enough to vent those emotions of hers in the form of a hex to his head. His body tensed instinctively, guessing that the latter was the most probable outcome... but nothing happened.  
  
Wanda had been hoping to escape the house without anyone noticing. She had no problem expressing her anger with the rest of the guys around, but any other emotion just made her feel weak. She'd planned to take a walk until she could stuff all her hurt and confusion back down inside her where it belonged, but of course Toad had to follow her. With all his flaws and annoying characteristics, he was loyal, she had to give him that. But this was the worst possible time to be so loyal. Drawing her hands back, blue energy crackled at her fingertips, ready to fire at the slimy little slacker, until she saw him tense up.  
  
_He was **expecting** me to hurt him? Do I really come off that scary? That violent? Wait, of course I do! I've got every right to be angry at Pietro and Father after... after what happened? Oh, why can't I remember? I know something must have happened, I clearly remember wanting them both dead for some reason... Oh, why does Toad have to go and look so pathetic like that?  
_  
Todd slowly opened his eyes again, having shut them in preparation for the assault that had never come. Wanda was still standing in front of him, but her hands were by her sides and she was looking at the ground. This time she wasn't even trying to hide her confusion. As she lifted her head, however, he noticed something else in her expression, something much more familiar to him.  
  
Pity.  
  
_Oh... no. No no no no no! Why does she have to **pity** me? Of all people! Can't she just blast me like usual? Damnit..._  
  
"Nevermind, Toad... Todd... whatever. I just wanted to go for a walk on my own for a bit. I'll catch you back at the house later, ok?"  
  
Not waiting for his answer, she turned and continued walking down the sidewalk.  
  
Todd felt his heart crush. She pitied him. She looked at him like how someone might look at a cute little animal flattened horribly in the middle of the road. But no, just that wasn't enough. She had to go on and call him _Todd_. No one called him by his real name, not ever. Not even back in the orphanage when he was little. He'd always just been Toad. So... she didn't hate him as much as he'd guessed, but instead pitied him?  
  
_Ow... my pride...  
_  
He watched her walk down the street, his eyes darting back and forth from her to the house. Should he follow? Should he go back to searching for food? Should he just lie down and die?  
  
"Well... sure thing then, Wanda! But, uh, you owe me a good blast when ya get back, ok snookums?"  
  
Defeated, he turned and headed down the street the opposite way, heading into town. Maybe he'd stop at the comic shop and lift some comics to cheer him up. He could grab one for Wanda too. With each step he shuffled the worn out soles of his shoes against the pavement, watching his feet intently as he went. His Sweetcakes was in pain, and he couldn't do anything about it. Not one damn thing! The gears in his head creaked and groaned as he forced them to turn. No, there had to be something he could do... if only she didn't pity him so much. If only he could prove himself to her, and to the rest of the Brotherhood.  
  
_Yeah... if they all respected me more, then maybe Wanda would like me better! I bet she's just embarrassed that a loser like me tries to hang out with her. If I could only pull off one job right... just one job..._  
  
Leaning forward, Todd propped himself against a lamppost. His stomach growled loudly, only half from hunger. He was standing in front of the Hamburger Hut, the smell of grease and fried food heavy in the air. One hand fumbled in his pockets, hoping that by some miracle there might actually be some money in there, but of course there wasn't. He looked in through the window in front at everyone else eating their double meat gutbombs and sipping their super extra large shakes, considering whether he should try and steal some food before heading home. A small place like this probably wouldn't be to difficult to rob, especially not at this time of day when there was hardly anyone there...  
  
The proverbial light clicked on in Todd's head. That was it. That was how he could prove himself. With eyes glinting with his plan, he stuck both hands in his pocket and stepped inside the restaurant, whistling innocently as he walked.


	2. Plan

Todd sauntered up to the counter, looking so casual that most would find it suspicious. After whistling for another long moment, taking his time looking at the menu, he turned to look at the girl at the register. He tried to give her an innocent sort of smile, but judging by her reaction it didn't go over to well.  
  
"Hi. Yeah, I'd like... uh... a double bacon gutbomb, an orange sizzle soda, some fries... and everything in the register."  
  
The woman, who'd started ringing up his order, paused to look back up at him.  
  
"Ya heard me right! Now make it snappy, toots! This is supposed to be a fast food place!"  
  
Removing one of his hands from the pocket of his baggy jeans, Todd flicked open his old, rusty switchblade, holding it carefully in front of him so that not too many other patrons at the restaurant would see. The girl nodded timidly, fear present in her eyes, as she opened the drawer of the cash register and started to add the money to the bag she'd taken out for his food.  
  
"And don't forget my meal too, sweetie."  
  
From behind him came the sound of the door opening as a group of teenagers entered.  
  
Jubilee, Amara, Bobby and Roberto walked up behind Todd, all talking rapidly together about their day at school. Todd cringed, holding the knife closer to his body and scrunching his head down low. He suddenly wished the lady would work faster. If the X-Men got involved in all of this, things would get a lot more complicated than he'd planned for. He motioned subtly with the switchblade for the woman to speed up, leaning in over the counter as best he could to try and seem more threatening.  
  
_Come on, come on..._  
  
"Hey, what's the hold up here?"  
  
Todd froze as Jubilee turned to face him.  
  
"Aren't you that guy from the boarding house?"  
  
_Ah shit..._  
  
Soon Bobby had joined her, trying to look over Todd's shoulder.  
  
"Wait... what's going on? Hey, I think he's trying to rob the place!"  
  
And at that loud exclamation, everyone in the restaurant looked directly at Todd.  
  
_What do I do what do I do? Should I grab the money and run? No, they'd catch me if I tried... Should I back down? No, I could never go back to the boarding house after that... What would Wanda do in a situation like this?_  
  
Wanda... he couldn't let her down. She was the whole reason he was doing this. He just had to pull this off! No snot-nosed little X-punks could stop him from earning the heart of the woman he loved! Even he hadn't sunk so low as to be beaten by an amateur super hero wannabe.  
  
_Not a. Four. There's four of 'em, genius. Still think this is a good idea?  
  
No, but here it goes anyways..._  
  
Todd whirled around, knife held out to swipe menacingly at the mutants. His eyes narrowed, hoping that he could stare them down from trying anything at least. With his luck he'd get locked up for stealing and property damage after they started using their powers.  
  
"Just shut up, all of ya, and stay back! I don't want any trouble, so just but out! This doesn't concern you."  
  
No, it concerned Wanda, and these guys were going to ruin it.  
  
"Not a chance, Toad! We're not about to let you get away with robbing our favorite burger place!"  
  
Bobby snorted, smirking at Toad as one of his hands iced over. Jubilee was at his side, fingers crackling with colored sparks. Roberto timidly brought up the rear, while Amara stood to one side, looking somewhat horrified.  
  
"M-maybe we shouldn't, Bobby. Maybe we should call the others, or the police..."  
  
"Oh stop worrying, Amara!" Jubilee stepped to the side, circling Todd in hopes of surrounding him. "We can handle this jerk no problem."  
  
Knees shaking, Todd forced himself to swallow. He pointed the blade from one kid to another, still trying desperately to look threatening.  
  
"Back down, you kids. I'm warnin' you ta stay outta this!"  
  
A screaming firework rocketed past Todd's head, just to the left of his ear. Startled, he jumped straight up in the air, landing atop the counter to see Jubilee laughing at him. Soon Bobby joined her, followed by the rest of the group. Todd's fear was slowly replaced with anger. They really didn't consider him any sort of threat, did they? Well he'd show them...  
  
Lunging forward, he slashed at Jubilee, this time intending to cut her arm. She jumped back in surprise, but the shoulder of her yellow coat tore open and a few pieces of black hair fluttered to the ground. Stunned, the group of X-Men looked from the hair, back up to Toad.  
  
"Oh," said Bobby carefully. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?"  
  
"Sure is, ya little X-geek. So just run on home now an let me finish things up."  
  
Bobby flung a shot of ice towards Toad suddenly, which Todd easily deflected as his tongue flicked out of his mouth like some kind of whip. The shard of ice clattered against the floor, sliding off into a corner as Todd's confidence rose. Roberto then jumped forward, grabbing Todd's wrists and pushing him back on the counter.  
  
"Just let it go, already! You can't take us all on!"  
  
"You don't know what you're talkin' about, kid!" Toad's tongue extended again, this time to grab the knife from his restrained hand, flailing it towards the boy's face. Roberto immediately let go of him, backing away. Just as Todd grabbed the handle of the switchblade again, Bobby darted forward to punch him in the gut, winding him. This was followed by a kick to his back from Jubilee, who had moved behind the counter now. Todd fell forward off the counter and onto his face, sliding a few feet. Again came the laughter.  
  
"Stop fuckin' laughin' at me, a'ight? It's not funny!"  
  
Todd looked over at Amara, narrowing her eyes. She was smiling, though hiding it politely behind one hand.  
  
_Maybe it would be easier to get outta here if I had a hostage...  
_  
Jumping to his feet, Todd dashed towards her with his knife held away to the side. He hopped into the air, hoping to land a kick to her chest to stun her. Really, he didn't want to hurt the girl, she seemed all right to him, but he'd been put into a difficult situation.  
  
"Amara! Duck!"  
  
She dropped to the floor just as an attack of blazing fireworks hit him in the side, knocking him off course so that he crashed into a table in front of the window. Coughing, Todd lay there for a moment, trying to catch his breath. The impact had hurt a lot, and he guessed that he must have bruised his ribs some. Still, he just shook his head to try and fix his vision, and hopped up onto the table, readying for another attack at the group. This time, the counter attack came from two directions at once.  
  
As the barrage of ice and fireworks hit him straight in the chest, the force knocked Todd backwards towards the window. Rather than stopping against the glass, however, he somehow kept going as suddenly everything started to slow down.  
  
The sound of tinkling glass against the pavement clued him in that he'd broken through the window, accompanied by several painful points on the rest of his body where the shards had cut into him. Despite the pain, to Todd it seemed his body was sailing backwards at a leisurely pace, as if he had all day to contemplate what was happening. He saw several of the customers inside standing up as the X-Men all made a slow-motion run towards the window, looks of horror etched into their faces.  
  
_Funny, I just wanted to hold up a fast food joint..._  
  
His feet were through the window now, a large piece of glass catching his calf, tearing it open. Eyes wide, he could almost see himself from the point of view of one of the bystanders.  
  
_Damn, I left the money inside. There's no way I'm gonna pull this off now... This means I'll have to go back and Wanda won't think any different of me... she'll still pity me, while everyone else will keep thinking I'm a screw up..._  
  
The wind felt pleasant as it rushed through his hair, causing several of the greasy strands to cross his vision. He looked up to see the sky, blue and clear without a cloud in sight.  
  
_Should have offered to take Wanda to the park today instead. Maybe she'd have let me. I could have told her some things, then... gotten her a flower or somethin' like that, told her how much I liked her... maybe that would have cheered her up. Maybe she already knew how I felt about her._  
  
Flashes of the orphanage he was raised in passed his mind's eye. The lonely days spent in that closet the staff tried to hide him in, the days when every kid his age would gang together to beat him up for being ugly... he saw the day he traded that hellhole for another when Mystique took him in... all the times he'd screwed up in the fights against the X-Men... the day Wanda arrived... The day he saved her from Magneto and had stolen that kiss... and today, when she'd called him Todd.  
  
_When I get back, I'll tell her straight up what I feel! Even if I don't get the money after all, even if-_  
  
Something cold slammed into Todd's shoulder, just where his neck met his collarbone. In the pleasant silence he heard a sickening crunch, and then suddenly everything sped up once again. His neck twisted, wrapping around the lamppost he'd hit, followed by the rest of his body. The metal rang like a bell being struck as he dropped to the pavement, his head bouncing once before falling to an odd angle. Half his head leaned off the curb into the gutter, tilting him so he had no choice but to continue looking at the sky. All the noises around him suddenly seemed hollow, like he was listening through a cardboard tube. People were screaming, some were running over to him, others just running away. A girl was crying.  
  
_Wonder if Wanda was going off to cry by herself... probably not... I hope she knew that if she wanted to cry, that I'd be there for her..._  
  
A blurry yellow and black shape hung over him, blocking out part of the blue sky.  
  
"Oh my God... are you alright? Bobby, quick... we need to call an ambulance! Hurry!"  
  
The sounds echoed through his throbbing head. He wasn't sure how the rest of his body faired, since he couldn't really feel it, but his head felt like his brains were about to leak out his ears. His vision started fading, making it easier for him to imagine that one of the figures leaning over him was Wanda.  
  
"I... I'm sorry, Wanda... guess I screwed up again, huh? Sorry... wanted to say that... that I love... I..."  
  
His words were cut off as he coughed weakly, the sound coming wet with the blood in his throat. He felt scared as the darkness started rushing in on him, feeling like he was drowning in the black and the blood. Though he couldn't see anything, his eyes opened wide in fright. Gasping one last time, his body went limp against the sidewalk, just as the sound of ambulances rang out in the distance. 


	3. Passing

"Oh no... Oh God... what have we done? Oh God oh God oh God..."  
  
"Amara, this is no time to freak out! We... we have to think about this logically. We can sort through this. Look, here comes the ambulance, they'll take care of him... right?"  
  
"I don't know, Jubes. I... I think we might have..."  
  
"Shut up, Bobby! He'll be fine! The doctors will take care of him!"  
  
"No... he, he's not breathing. And I think his neck is broken... Oh God, there's so much blood..."  
  
"Should we run?"  
  
The group all stared at Roberto with looks of horror and confusion.  
  
"What? I mean, we just... didn't we? We're going to be in big trouble, and I don't think the police will go easy on a bunch of mutants like us. They'll look for any excuse to get us out of town. A... a murder charge would be perfect..."  
  
"HE'S NOT DEAD!"  
  
Bobby put a hand on Jubilee's shoulder, shaking his head sadly at her, just as the ambulance pulled up to the curb.  
  
"I think he's right, you guys... we should get out of here. Just for now. We can tell the professor what happened. I mean, it was an accident and-"  
  
One of the ET's bent down and felt for a pulse, then looked up at the other woman with him. "Record it. Time of death, 2:37 pm, September 23rd."  
  
"Let's... go..."  
  
The kids grabbed the bikes they'd left outside the restaurant and headed back to the mansion at top speed while one of the emergency technicians yelled at them from behind to come back. They didn't stop until they were through the gates of the institute.  
  
---------------  
  
Wanda had circled the park and started back to town. She wasn't ready yet to go back to the boarding house. Her emotions were still boiling and bubbling inside her, and she couldn't risk slipping in front of anyone. Her mind had been turning over her present situation carefully, considering all points of view. She wanted to trust her father and her brother again, but something told her she shouldn't. But Pietro had really been trying with her lately, making an effort to be less of the little bastard he was and a shade closer to the brother he should be. She didn't want to trust anyone in the house at all. Pietro was the one she should be able to trust, but he probably was the least honest of them all. The only one she trusted at all was Toad... Todd. Whatever. The poor idiot obviously had a thing for her, and no matter how many times she beat him for it, he's always come back like some kind of beaten, loyal puppy dog.  
  
_I should probably be a little nicer to him. I mean, he's the only real friend I've got around here..._  
  
As she entered town center, she was so deep in thought that she barely noticed the police cars and the ambulance outside the Hamburger Hut. Her eyes were fixed on the street in front of her, unwilling to meet anyone else's eyes at the moment. Her own life was just too much for her to consider whatever tragedy had happened at the fast food place. It didn't concern her, so why get involved?  
  
_Maybe I should bring back some food for the rest of the boarding house. They'd probably think it was poisoned or something... hmph, I can do something nice too. None of them understand. I should at least pick up something for Todd. Maybe that way he'd stop eating flies in front of the rest of us..._  
  
"That's right officer, four kids. Mutant kids! They're the ones that did this! They ran off before you arrived, though. I think they were from that school or something..."  
  
Wanda glanced over at the large woman speaking with the police officer. Mutant kids, huh? Probably some of the younger X-Men. It seemed like something those little fuck-ups would do.  
  
_I bet they were joking around with their powers or something and broke the window.  
_  
"So then the girl in the yellow jacket and the boy with the ice powers blasted that poor boy through the window and he hit that lamppost there. I could hardly believe my eyes! I knew those mutants were trouble, but I never thought they were murderers!"  
  
Now that was interesting. Wanda was coming up on the section of the sidewalk the police had cordoned off, but she paused to listen some more. The X-Men had killed someone? Even the Brotherhood had never killed anyone, and any injuries any bystanders received were usually accidents. This woman made it sound like the kids had done it on purpose. She was probably one of those anti-mutant people, looking for an excuse to get mutants in general in trouble. The X-Men had never seemed like murderers to her. Annoying bastards, but not murderers. Satisfied that she'd heard enough, she continued walking. She had to step into the street to walk around all the police cars and the ambulance. It looked like whatever happened, just went down a few minutes before she'd arrived.  
  
"Chief? We've identified the victim."  
  
"Oh? Who is he?"  
  
"Some kid named Todd Tolensky."  
  
Wanda froze, halfway between one of the police cruisers and the ambulance.  
  
"The poor kid... do we have the number for his parents?"  
  
"No Sir, it seems he was an orphan. He's been staying with some woman named Raven Darkholme in the boarding house on the edge of town."  
  
Wanda turned her head, slowly looking between the cars. The front window of the store was shatter, huge pieces of glass spread on the pavement with smaller shards around them. Some blood splattered the sidewalk, leading towards that lamppost there...  
  
"Well, I guess we should give the house a call then."  
  
"We tried, Sir, but it seems the phone line was cut off. They didn't even have enough money to pay for the service. The same goes for water, too. The poor boy, he must have led a horrible life..."  
  
"I guess he lived in the gutter and died in it as well..."  
  
Her eyes stopped at the base of the lamppost. A body lay crumbled and bent around the metal, twisted in an unnatural position. A chalk outline traced his form, running off the curb where his head tilted back, blood dripping into the gutter. Longish dirty brown hair stuck to his scalp and forehead, matted with the blood that now soaked the concrete. A look of shocked defeat was frozen on his face. His eyes were partially open, looking straight at her without seeing.  
  
Todd's body.  
  
_What?! No, this can't be real. I just talked with him! He was worried about me, wanted to cheer me up... I blew him off and... and... he headed into the town center..._  
  
She'd spent the afternoon trying to suppress her emotions, and had almost been successful. All the pain and confusion had been beaten back and she'd started to think that maybe, just maybe, she'd make it through all this. After all, Toad was her friend.  
  
_Was._  
  
Like some sort of hybrid of fire and electricity, blue energy crackled around Wanda's clenched fists. She wanted to look away from Todd's body, but she couldn't. With each passing moment she felt her emotions boil over. Someone must have seen her because she heard a scream. People were staring at her. She didn't care. The one good thing in her life had just been senselessly killed. Todd was harmless; there was no reason for this to happen to him. No reason at all. As she walked over to his body, the light bulb atop the lamppost burst, showering sparks and tiny pieces of glass over her. The thick metal pole groaned as blue tinted energy twisted it down, bending it away from Todd's broken body. More screaming filled her ears along with the clicking sound of guns being cocked. The police tracked her as she bent to collect the body in her arms, ignoring the blood smearing her hands and jacket.  
  
"Stop right there! What do you think you're doing?"  
  
Wanda waved a hand and suddenly the police cruisers sprang to life, the engines revving as the gears in each one shifted. They all suddenly backed up of their own accord, blocking her from the police.  
  
"Todd had a family. I'm bringing him home to them. Don't bother pointing those things at me, go find out who did this to him."  
  
The police peered around the cars, confusion on their faces.  
  
**"DO IT!"  
**  
They fled, some jumping into their cars while others just ducked for cover, expecting some sort of attack. Wanda held Todd's body in both arms, carrying him as if he might wake up at any moment, as she headed back for the boarding house. The X-Men would pay for what they'd done to him, but first she had to make sure his body was shown the proper respect. He belonged at home, not in some morgue. With each step her anger and rage flamed higher, nearly tangible around her tensed body.  
  
_They'll pay... every single one of them._


	4. Preview

Final-ish Author's Note: Alright, I know some people were waiting for the next chapter of this story, but I'm afraid you're going to be waiting for a while. That isn't to say that you won't get the conclusion of this story eventually, so don't worry about that, it's just that I need to wait for my other story (soon to be stories) from this universe-ish thing I've seemed to created to catch up with this one. Silly me was so eager to write this part of the story that I got a bit ahead of myself.

Ok, so what's going on here? Where can you get your angst on?

-Well, first off, I recommend reading my other fic _In All the Wrong Places_ which really is the first in this series I'm doing. Yes, I've now resigned myself; this is a series of stories that I just need to tell, as slow as I can be at times with my updates. _Wrong Places_ starts when Tabby leaves the Brotherhood and branches off into this Alternate Universe. It will be touching on some of the darker parts of her life as well as exploring a previously unexplored relationship. I'd be all cryptic here, but most people who've read this story have already read Wrong Places, so yes this would be the Tabicott relationship, or as I like to call it… Boomclops.

-The second story in this time line also stems from the rp that spawned both Boomclops and Toad's death, though mostly as a way to hopefully serve as a lesson of sorts to all the people rping at this particular group in order to have sex with one another. It deals with the very sweet pairing of Amara and Ray, and of course it tackles some issues that you never really see dealt with in fan fiction. I'm excited to write this one as soon as I get a free moment. While I want to work their relationship up slowly in the story, I know that will make all of you wait so much longer, so expect this story to drag a bit behind the others.

-Originally, the next story in this timeline would deal with the Acolytes, but to be honest I'm rather touchy about that one as it uses my original character, and I'm sure you've all come to realize how harsh I can be on OC's and Mary Sues. Gayle was my attempt at making an original character for the Acolytes/Brotherhood (she was intended for comic-verse first) that could conceivably survive in such a place. On the one hand, I was sick of all the pretty sexy sexy dark gothic sexy raven assassin powerful sexy beautiful sexy sexy sex girls that were always written into the Acolytes (because seriously… I know for one, St. John would have no patience for that kinda shit, at least not if he retains even a sliver of his comic-verse personality, which I firmly believe he does). But on the other hand, the shy, sweet, bouncy sort of characters would never be with the Acolytes either.

So I created Gayle, the namesake of my screen name now that she's retired: she wasn't pretty, she wasn't sweet, she wasn't gothic, she wasn't look-at-me-I'm-so-fucking-tough-and-badass-OMG, she was just a believable sort of character who had come from the right environment to make her jaded enough (note: not angsty, jaded) to go along with the Acolytes. However, in the rp that this story is based on… she ended up in a relationship-ish thing with Pyro. So boom, there went my attempt. True, it was worked up to, but I just feel so guilty having to say that an original character of mine ended up with Pyro. And so, I retired Gayle, and now I'm not even sure if I'll write this part of the story. Any feedback on whether or not people want to read this story is welcome, of course. I have yet to really make up my mind.

-And of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't right some sweet sweet slash into this verse. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure which of my slash couples I want to write about, as we never got to this on the RP. I don't think it will involve Pietro, as much as I hate to say it, as he will have a bit part in the arc involving Toad's death. Oh, he'll be as gay as ever in that arc, so never fear, but I won't be focusing on him in another story. And Scott's taken for now, along with Ray, both of whom can be wonderful when slashed, and well, Toad dies, so unless I'm up for extra uber angst with some angst fries on the side, I don't think I'll be writing a pairing with him (sorry Kurt/Todd fans). However, there are two pairings I am very seriously considering… the famed Xavier/Magneto pairing, and the more comic-based pairing of Bobby/Hank. I'll have to work more to make the Bobby/Hank one work, but I think I could make it come off as believable so long as no one's expecting some hot hot s3x0r right away. Oh, and there's also the possibility of a one-sided Duncan/Scott thing too, I suppose. It's always interesting to write from the point of view of an asshole. Again, any feedback you'd like to give me will influence this decision.

-The Toad story comes about four months after where _Wrong Places_ currently stops. Yeah, I really got ahead of myself there. So, consider this a preview of things to come in this verse, and the ensuing fight will be in a separate story after the others have merged firmly into one.

Hmmm, it seems this whole AU thing has suddenly gotten pretty elaborate. I'm considering giving it a verse name or something in order to mark which stories are a part of it. No ideas yet for that, but we'll see.

Love goes out to the fans that have been reading this stuff. I'll try not to keep all of you waiting for too long on the other stories. If I'm getting lazy, by all means, kick my ass into motion through AIM or e-mail or whatever. Thanks.


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